Jacob Riis Interview

Well, to start things out, Jacob Riis was a Danish-American journalist. He was born on May 3, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark, and died on May 26, 1914. He lived in New York for most of his life and is considered to be the first photographer to use flash (artificial light when you are taking a photo). That’s all the information I know, I am going to hand it over to Jacob.

What was your childhood like?
I actually did not have a very pleasant childhood. Sadly, at the age of eleven my brother drowned. From that day on I remember seeing my mother stare at this empty chair at the dinner table. As a kid, I always wanted to be a carpenter but, I guess things didn’t go as I planned.

Why did you move to the US Jacob Riis?
I moved to America at first to seek carpenter work. It was not easy, at the time, there were many immigrants that were migrating to the United States. Everyone seemed to be seeking a better life in an industrialized environment. This migration caused the rise of cities in the US. Though, I was just another poor immigrant in New York. The only friend I had was a stray dog I met a little after I settled down in New York. As soon as I met that dog there was a hope in my life, until it was beat to death by a police officer. I was then shifted to a police-run poor house.

When did you move to the US?
I am going to give you a very brief answer. I moved to America in 1870 by steamer. That was the only way to get to America. I moved when I was 21 years old.

What made you be part of the journalism career?
Well, I had many jobs before I accepted the job as a police reporter in 1873. I worked in the slums of New York City. Because I lived in the slums, I wanted to change the life of many who still were living the poor life. I took many photos of the poverty in the city, especially police beatings. I then started to create my book, How the Other Half Lives. I wrote that book to convince the Commissioner of Police Theodore Roosevelt to stop the use of police-run poor houses. The Commissioner was so touched by my work, and he befriended me for life. So basically, to sum things up, I took many photographs of the living conditions at the time of the industrial revolution.

What was your love life like, Mr. Riis?
Well, at the age of 25, I sent a marriage proposal to my childhood love Elisabeth Gortz for the second time. Luckily, this time she said yes. Sadly, in 1905 Elisabeth fell sick, and died. Two years later I married Mary Phillips, and together we moved into a farm in Barre, Massachusetts. Mary then lived on until 1967 and taught in Columbia University.